Can MLB Draft Picks be Traded?

The MLB draft is the primary process for Major League Baseball (MLB) to acquire high school and college baseball players for their teams. Organized during the All-Star weekend every year, this process sees the brightest talents from colleges and high schools get selected into one of the MLB teams and start their professional journey.

The MLB Draft is conducted by following a particular order. The order is determined by the lottery system, which chooses the first six overall picks for the draft. Accordingly, the teams start selecting their preferred players. Once the players are drafted, they start their professional career by first playing in the minor leagues where they develop themselves and gain experience. They finally make their MLB debut one or two years later based on their performance in the minor leagues. Notably, there have been exceptions, in which players have directly made their MLB debuts for teams without playing in the minor leagues. The 2024 MLB Draft, taking place from July 14, 2024, to July 16, 2024, will introduce the next batch of talented baseball players to start their professional journey in the league.

Rules for Trading MLB Draft Picks

There are some rules regarding trading players obtained through draft picks as per the MLB website. According to this rule, only the players acquired through competitive balance draft picks can be traded. The Competitive Balance Draft Pick Rule was first introduced in the 2012-16 Collective Bargaining Agreement and was later updated in the 2017-21 version.

According to this agreement, only teams that either have one of the ten smallest markets or the ten smallest revenue pools can participate in the Competitive Balance Draft Picks rounds. Moreover, they can also trade their draft picks but cannot forfeit them. Two rounds of Competitive Balance Draft Picks are held within the MLB Draft every year. Round A takes place between the first round and second round while Round B takes place between the second and third rounds of the draft. The teams drafting in Competitive Balance Round A will receive $5.25 million while those in Round B will receive $5.75 million as international bonus pool amounts. Notably, the teams vary every year.

Major League Baseball (MLB) does not allow teams to trade their draft picks any other way as of 2024.

Which MLB teams can Trade their Draft Picks in 2024?

There are fourteen MLB teams that can trade their draft picks during the 2024 MLB Draft. These teams are in Competitive Balance Rounds A and B for the year -

Competitive Balance Round A

34. Milwaukee Brewers (Acquired from the Baltimore Orioles in the trade for Corbin Burnes.)

35. Arizona Diamondbacks

36. Cleveland Guardians

37. Pittsburgh Pirates

38. Colorado Rockies

39. Kansas City Royals

Competitive Balance Round B

66. Tampa Bay Rays

67. Milwaukee Brewers

68. Chicago White Sox (Acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the trade for Gregory Santos.)

69. Minnesota Twins

70. Miami Marlins

71. Cincinnati Reds

72. Detroit Tigers

73. Oakland Athletics